PICK OF THE DAY

Jesy Nelson: “Odd One Out”

9pm, BBC One

You might think that being part of an internationally famous pop group would make you immune to the pea-brained trolls who delight in stalking social media. However, the online abuse that Jesy Nelson of Little Mix has suffered began when the group first broke on The X Factor – cyber bullies instantly dubbing her the “fat one” in the band – has seemingly never abated. In this intensely personal documentary, Nelson meets other victims of online abuse and shares her own strategies for coping, while fellow Little Mix members Perrie, Leigh-Anne and Jade discuss how her torment affected the band and their ability to perform.

Hairy Bikers: Route 66

8pm, BBC Two

Billy Connolly, who also happens to appear in the USA tonight (Billy Connolly’s Great American Trail on ITV), crossed Route 66 – the legendary road that links Chicago to Los Angeles– for television in 2011. Dave Myers and Si King naturally have a more foodie agenda as they nose their motorbikes down the “highway that’s the best,” starting in Chicago, where they’re shown how to eat a “wet beef sandwich” without dripping gravy down their shirts. They also cook a meat loaf for some camera-shy Amish and eat apple pie in Missouri, but in an effort to “get beyond nostalgia,” the duo also decide to stay in the post-industrial ghost town of Lincoln.

The Hairy Bikers in Monument Valley on the Arizona-Utah Border (Photo: BBC)

China: A New World Order

9pm, BBC Two

This excellent, strangely overlooked (maybe we just can’t keep our eyes off our own political story) series ends by exploring the growing tension between China and the West concerning allegations that the Chinese state has engaged for years in large-scale industrial espionage and hacking in order to steal the West’s business secrets and technological know-how (a campaign described by one US official here as “the greatest transfer of wealth in human history”). China denies any such wrongdoing – but growing suspicion and anger in the US is one factor which is fuelling the trade war with President Xi Jinping’s superpower.

First Dates Hotel

9pm, Channel 4

Another group of singletons check in to the luxury hotel. Paul is a shy, unassuming radio station manager who just happened to have been part of one of the biggest English pop groups of the early 2000s – no spoilers as to which one, a diffidence shared by Paul himself, as he’s set up with a date with dance teacher Anna. “It can sometimes skew off in weird directions,” he explains of his reluctance to share. Meanwhile, fun-loving lawyer Lianne is paired with fellow legal eagle Sia, and hanging out at the pool is Finn, who has a “Romeo syndrome,” meaning he falls instantly in love with every woman he finds attractive. There may be a romcom in that.

Fred Sirieix is back to matchmake a new gang of lovebirds on location in Italy (Photo: Channel 4)

Lost Films Of WW2

9pm, BBC Four

The personal cine footage includes
a Royal Navy officer on duty in the Mediterranean, the only colour film of a Bomber Command squadron on a mission, a British spy in the field and, most tantalising of all, snippets recorded during the early days of the German occupation of Jersey.

This Way Up

10pm, Channel 4

Aisling Bea’s promising debut sitcom works best when Aine is sparking off her screen sister Shona. It ends tonight with them largely apart, as Aine and Richard grow closer, while Vish goes down on one knee to a flustered Shona.

Si King and Dave Myers are back with another show full of accessible and delicious culinary flavours as they embark on a life-long ambition to ride their bikes on one of the world’s most iconic road trips.

The Hairy Biker duo will take on America’s Routed 66, a 2,000-mile trail of tarmac that travels form Chicago to California.

The pair will explore the different sights, sounds and tastes of America past and present as they go, meeting local cultures and communities as they go and sampling several delicacies.

Here’s everything you need to know about it.

When will the new Hairy Bikers show be on?

The first episode of the new six-part series will air on BBC Two on 12 September at 8pm to 9pm.

The next episodes will follow that format every Thursday at the same time.

Where will they stop off at?

Expect the bikers to park up all along the famous route through the heart of the States. From Chicago to St Louis, from Native American tribes to new immigrant communities, they visit a varied cross-section of cultures.

The Hairy Bikers in Monument Valley on the Arizona-Utah Border (Photo: BBC)

They head to Texas to work with cowboys, drive through the prairies of Oklahoma, traverse the 50+ degrees Celsius Mojave Desert and swoop into Monument Valley.

They end in Los Angeles where they come face to face with some of the newer, healthier, and not so healthy food trends in town.

What can we expect from the first episode of the series?

The adventure starts on the road from Chicago, which attracted migrant workers from all over the world to its meatpacking industry.

As a result, the local dishes of the city are seriously diverse, and the bikers tuck into everything from hickory-smoked BBQ meat to a soggy Italian beef sub that sees the two adopt a position to avoid dropping bits of it onto their clean boots.

They then head down through to a small town part of America where they enjoy some retro entertainment by the side of the road before sampling a championship-winning apple pie.

The pair receive an invitation to cook with the Amish community too and learn about their technology-free way of life.

Finally, the bikers cross the Mississippi river into Missouri, where they head on to the city of St Louis. There they try out a local delicacy, Ted Drewes’ “concrete custard”, a rich, thick slab of pudding that is served upside down.

The end with the tale of the more recent migration of the town’s Bosnian community.

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